Bill O'Reilly was on his way to the airport in Rome when he found out that 21st Century Fox was giving him the boot, Sarah Ellison reports at Vanity Fair, but back at Fox News headquarters in Manhattan, the firing hit like a bomb. "As shocking as the Roger Ailes fiasco may have been, and as surprising as Megyn Kelly's departure went down, Bill O'Reilly's sudden ouster has absolutely shaken the newsroom, according to multiple insiders," Ellison says. She explains how the decision, finalized during a day of top-level meetings, went down, and why it shook the newsroom so deeply:
The move to dethrone O'Reilly, once unimaginable, crystallized over the past week, as advertisers continued to flee his show, more women came forward, and, perhaps most important, Fox News management came to realize that there was no way to stem the possibility that more accusers might surface, anonymously or not, and that O'Reilly would be a liability for the company as long as he stayed on at the network. ... "There's more to come," one Fox News insider told me, suggesting that there are more women with stories of harassment who have not come forward publicly. This estimation was affirmed by two people who heard such stories directly. [Vanity Fair]
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Ecuador's cloud forest has legal rights – and maybe a song creditUnder the Radar In a world first, 'rights of nature' project petitions copyright office to recognise Los Cedros forest as song co-creator
-
Today's political cartoons - November 3, 2024Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - presidential pitching, wavering convictions, and more
-
Why Man United finally lost patience with ten HagTalking Point After another loss United sacked ten Hag in hopes of success in the Champion's League
-
US economy still strong in final preelection reportSpeed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strikeSpeed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
-
Ports reopen after dockworkers halt strikeSpeed Read The 36 ports that closed this week, from Maine to Texas, will start reopening today
-
Empty-nest boomers aren't selling their big homesSpeed Read Most Americans 60 and older do not intend to move, according to a recent survey
-
Brazil accuses Musk of 'disinformation campaign'Speed Read A Brazilian Supreme Court judge has opened an inquiry into Elon Musk and X
-
Disney board fends off Peltz infiltration bidSpeed Read Disney CEO Bob Iger has defeated activist investor Nelson Peltz in a contentious proxy battle
-
Disney and DeSantis reach detenteSpeed Read The Florida governor and Disney settle a yearslong litigation over control of the tourism district
-
Visa and Mastercard agree to lower swipe feesSpeed Read The companies will cap the fees they charge businesses when customers use their credit cards
